Life As We Have Lead It
by Fonset
Summary: (3rd genre: Mystery) Following the Scourge invasion of Quel'Thalas, many lives were lost. Among the lives lost were those of Sylvanas Windrunner, Anasterian Sunstrider and the mother, sister and father of the land's current ruler: Regent Lord Lor'themar Theron. Or so it is presumed. Lor'themar hopes to trace back the past, and uncover what has happend to his mother and sister.
1. Prologue

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**Life As We Have Lead It..**

Prologue

_Disclaimer: Most characters and this universe itself are created and owned by Blizzard. All hail the creators who created the creators(the Pantheon, you know, the Titans and stuff!)!_

_Cover disclaimer: made by Vaanel (Evanel Vaanel Intaanis), you can find him and his amazing WoW models on at least deviantart and YouTube, I highly recommend you check him out!_

* * *

The Regent Lord of Quel'Thalas, that was what he was known as today. As evening had fallen and most were asleep, Lor'themar sat in his chambers, peering outside of the great window into the darkness. This was nothing like what he imagined his life would be at this point. During the day, he was Regent Lord Lor'themar Theron. But at night, he let all of his troubles fill his mind, only to let the faces of the family he had lost to the Scourge wash them away.

He imagined what sweet words his mother would whisper to him had she been here, what courage his father would show had he been in his son's shoes. Or the kindness of his sister.. his sweet sister.. so young when she was taken from him.. He would have gladly given his life in order to protect her, but he had not even been close to her when Quel'Thalas was invaded by Arthas and his undead army.. She had been defending Quel'Thalas from the frontlines with Ranger General, now the Banshee Queen, Sylvanas Windrunner and her rangers, and he.. he had been way on the other side of the kingdom, pushed back to Silvermoon eventually, the biggest mass of Scourge army going to where Sylvanas and his sister had been.

His father had also been unlucky as he, for he was sworn to defend his King, had indeed been defending High King Anasterian Sunstrider and the Convocation of Silvermoon. He was the only one Lor'themar had been able to say a proper goodbye to and had him buried, the bodies of his mother and sister, on the other hand, had never been recovered. Countless times he had tried to ask Sylvanas where his sister had gone, but she usually replied with a mere 'you don't want to know' or 'I don't even know that, Lord Regent'.

He had figured she must have suffered a fate worse than that of Sylvanas Windrunner herself. He loathed himself for failing to protect his little sister, or the rest of his family for that matter. And since his home had nevertheless been destroyed by now, the only thing he had left from any of them was Cyntha's cat. The black puffy thing was rolling around on his lap as he stroked its belly, once again reminding himself of the countless times he had seen his sister do this, as happy as she had ever been. He vowed he would take care of him until the cat's days would come to an end, and it served to keep her spirit alive to him.

Tomorrow, they would leave to lay siege on Orgrimmar, and Lor'themar hoped that his sister's memory would be with him to guide him through these troubled times. He hoped that all of them would be there, somehow. He let a single tear escape from his blind left eye, the cat not even noticing it. When it did after a little while, it jumped off of his lap because he was making the animal uncomfortable. Lor'themar sighed deeply at this, and decided that it was time for a bit of well deserved rest. As he laid down in his bed and pulled the blanket over himself, not caring about the clothes he was still wearing, and quickly fell asleep, dreaming of the past.

_A young Lor'themar walked alongside of his father to his parent's room. Once inside, he saw his mother lying in bed. Her face was a bit pale, but she was smiling at something she was holding in her arms. All Lor'themar could see there was a blanket, but it was obviously wrapped around something. The white blanket had signs of red on it, and Lor'themar wasn't sure what was going on. But as his parents were smiling widely, so was he. His father softly pushed him on his back, guiding him to his mother, who now looked up to regard her son with a kind smile. Her red locks were a bit sweaty and not at all carefully tied up in a knot, streaks falling out of it which were kind of defeating the point._

_"Come closer, Lor'themar," she whispered. "Come see your new sister." Sister? He had a sister now? Lor'themar wasn't sure when this had happened, but he recalled a few conversations about this, his parents telling him he would soon be a big brother. He carefully climbed onto the bed and sat down next to his mother, his father kneeling beside him on the floor. Father reached to touch Lor'themar's little sister on her cheek, and stroked her as mother held her down for Lor'themar to see her. She looked very tiny and a bit wet. Her skin was very red and her eyes were closed. She had only a few hairs on her head, and they looked very dark to him, unlike the colour blond he and his father had, their hair looking like it had caught a lot of sunlight. It didn't even look like his mother's hair. Lor'themar wondered if whoever brought the baby here grabbed the right one on their way to his house._

_His mother giggled at his unsure reaction. "Hold her for a moment, Lor'themar. Be sure to mind her head." She looked at father for an instant before she carefully handed the baby to him. She laid the baby in his lap, and father placed his own hand along with his son's underneath the baby's head to support it. His parents merely sat there, smiling for a long time as they moved closer to eachother to embrace their children. When they did so, the baby opened her eyes and looked directly at Lor'themar. That was the moment he realized he was actually someone's big brother now, as he looked into the baby's sapphire blue eyes, so much like his own. He smiled at her now, and the baby stretched one of her arms at him for as much as she could._

_"What shall we call her?" father whispered to his wife. _

_"Cyntha," she answered after a short while._

_"Cyntha Theron.." father responded. "Sounds wonderful." He held his wife close to him, now having moved closer to her. After a little while, he took his new daughter from his son's arms and held her close to his chest for a long time, mother clutching his arm as he did so. She also reached out for Lor'themar to come to her, and he crawled over the sheets to where his family was. _

_That day was one of the most wonderful days Lor'themar would ever know, and he had never wished for more to happen since that day, merely enjoying the moment as they all sat there in complete silence, but knowing they loved and cared for eachother deeply._

As he briefly woke from that dream, he wondered what had happened. Where have his mother and sister been?


	2. Chapter I : Memories of the Past

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**Life As We Have Lead It..**

Chapter I

_Memories of the Past_

_Dislaimer: If all of this was mine, I would have built the capital city of Lordaeron for myself. And if magic was real, it would've been Silvermoon instead! ^-^ (wait.. so magic isn't real?!)  
Kudos to Blizzard for creating an awesome world._

* * *

_"It would be easier if you relax your arm more, Cynth," Lor'themar said as he placed his hand on his sister's to adjust her position. He could see she was getting frustrated by repeatedly having missed the target. "I know you will get it right, eventually."_

_"But when.." she responded, annoyance present in her voice as she spoke. Lor'themar concealed his slight smile he had been unable to hold back. Lucky enough for him, his sister had not seen it._

_"I was worse than you when I was your age, believe me." He shushed her, giving her an easy smile instead. Cyntha looked at him for a moment, narrowing her eyes as if she was trying to read his thoughts. She then readied herself once again, concentrating at the target a couple of meters away and tensed her muscles._

_"Relax your arm more," Lor'themar said again, and this time his sister listened. As she let go of the bow's string, the arrow shot away in a line that was a lot more straight than every attempt she had made previously. The arrow hit the very edge of the target, but Lor'themar saw his sister smiling nevertheless.  
"See? I told you that you'd get it right." Cyntha leaped over to him to hug him, her head merely reaching his stomach as she did so._

_"Thanks Lor, for teaching me," she whispered. Lor'themar patted her back, wondering why father had arranged a magister to tutor her to begin with. She seemed so much happier when she practiced things one needed to master in order to become a ranger. He sighed, perhaps he would never know why.. Their father had his own ideas about certain things, perhaps he wanted his only daughter to practice a somewhat - safer profession. Perhaps he was afraid Cyntha would get hurt in the process of things. Of course Lor'themar doubted his father would ever enlighten him on the subject. At least he knew his mother had little care for what her daughter wished to practice, as long as she enjoyed doing it. Working with a bow and arrow fit that discription perfectly._

_"Did father ever tell you why he had Master Illonis tutor you?" After Lor'themar had spoken the words, her realized how blunt he must have sounded. Things their father did was always a delicate subject to the ears of his sister. He immediately came to regret asking her this question as he saw her struggle to find an answer. "You know what," he said hastily. "Never mind that. I'll find a way to get you out of that," he promised. He saw Cyntha's expression shine up like a gold coin. He only wished he had the ability to convince his father to change his mind about Cyntha's education, he wouldn't want her to think he was a liar._

"Lord Regent?" said a feminine voice, slightly echoing as she spoke. Lor'themar turned his head to see Sylvanas standing next to him. Under her hood, he could see she was raising an eyebrow at him, despite the fact that her face seemed almost hidden in the shadows. He realized he had been leaning over the edge of their elven ship, staring at the sea in the distance, for a long time now. It must have looked as if he thought their cause was hopeless, or something similar to that. For that he had to curse himself. He was supposed to inspire the others, not make them feel hopeless and without a thing to look forward to. "We have nearly reached Orgrimmar by now. Give them your command," Sylvanas demanded.

"Yes, of course," he responded, recovering from his earlier flashback. He was very much aware that now was not the time to let his thoughts get the better of him. This was one of the most important things he would ever have to do. His most important duty as Regent Lord of Quel'Thalas was to make sure his people would endure any hardship, overcome any obstacle and that they would emerge stronger than before. He would defend his people against any who would do them harm. Currently, this was Garrosh Hellscream's very questionable leadership. It would destroy them in the long run, this Lor'themar knew. So they had joined Vol'jin's rebellion. Now was the time to lay Siege to Orgrimmar, and end this madness once and for all.

Sylvanas was smiling darkly as the coast came into view. "Garrosh has really gone all-out this time, hasn't he? I expected more spikes, honestly."

As soon as they got off their ships, they were met by a legion of Dragonmaw orcs. "I see the Dragonmaw have thrown in their lot with Garrosh," Sylvanas mused as she swiftly cut through a few of them with her blades. Lor'themar was reminded of a time when she cut through Amani trolls with the same ease when she was still living. Not only did she have more colour to herself and her clothing, but her personality had been a lot more sparkeling as well. Lor'themar grunted his annoyance as he saw a few of his rangers wandering too close to the action, clearly not designed for close-combat, and were struck down by a few angry orcs. Sylvanas acted as quickly as he, and both brought the orcs down with a rain of arrows before they could come any closer. As they pushed forward, her heard Sylvanas laugh.

"I can raise your dead, Regent Lord. Your rangers can fight again!" she said, smiling at him wickedly. Lor'themar however, was instantly appalled by her comment. The thought of the act alone disgusted him to his very core.

"Sylvanas," he said with a very serious tone in his voice. "you will leave our corpses alone, or I will deal with you here and now." She forced an easy smile, turning once again to face the battle in front of them.

"I'm sorry to see your lack of commitment." He grunted in annoyance, but thought it best to not pay further heed to the Dark Lady. He had come to realize over the years that she was only a shadow of her former self. If she did not wear roughly the same body and did not have the same cunning form of fighting, he'd have sworn it was someone else. But she had shown commitment to Quel'Thalas before, and she was a very dear and valuable ally to him nonetheless. He would just have to keep in mind not to try and treat her as the same Sylvanas Windrunner he had known for years, and sort of give her a chance to make a new first impression on him, so that he might act accordingly.

.

"Finally," Lor'themar said, slightly panting after the battle. "I will never get all of this dust out of my robes.." He tried brushing a bit of the foul dust that had indeed gotten into his armor and clothing off, but to no avail. He had been spitting the stuff out of his mouth over the course of nearly the whole battle. Sylvanas giggled at him, yet sounding very dark as always. She lived up to her title and reputation to the fullest.

"Oh, you're still here? I had kind of hoped you perished. You would make a very attractive corspe." She would have sounded exactly like her old self, were it not for the fact she spoke of him as a corspe. Although it did amuse him somewhat to hear her tease him as she always had again.

"I will take that as a compliment. We'll hold the docks and marshal the forces."

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Of course there was barely any action after Warlord Zaela had vanished into thin air on the docks. Lor'themar had become frustrated with his inability to stop his thoughts from invading his head and just stand ready for any possible attackers. Apparantly it showed, as Sylvanas had sneaked up to him without him having noticed it and she shoved an elbow in his stomach.

"What are you doing, Lor'themar?" she hissed at him. "You are lucky the others are as blind as you, otherwise they would have noticed you staring at I-don't-know-what."

"You know damn well what I'm doing, Sylvanas," he hissed back, pushing her arm away from him yet without much force, otherwise the others would indeed notice what was going on by seeing the Banshee Queen stagger.

"Oh sure, I just thought you would be over it by now," she whispered in annoyance.

"Over it?" Lor'themar said, barely sustaining himself from talking loudly - nay, screaming was a better way of putting it. His eyes were filled with fury as he looked right into those of the Banshee Queen.

"Evidently not," Sylvanas said, and she simply walked away from him, holding her bow so that she was ready to fire an arrow into whoever would approach them. She briefly glared at him as if she wanted to tell him to keep his head together. And he'd agree with her, sure, if it had been a minor thing that was bothering him. But it wasn't, and she could have even helped him clear his mind by just being more honest with him. Although he had to admit, there might be a chance that whatever she told him might make him worry more.. So many times had he thought about why she would not let go of any information regarding his sister, that he had come up with his own theory for it. The most obvious one was that if she told him something, he'd fly into an uncontrollable rage. It was the one where she would realize his worst fear: that Arthas had risen his sister from the dead and tortured her, just like he had tortured Sylvanas. Only she had still been in his service after Sylvanas was able to get away from him.. Which was why he had never seen her again or heard anything about her again..

Lor'themar blinked back his tears, forcing himself to focus on the task at hand: holding the docks and defend him and his people against attackers. He looked around to regard them, and stared once again right into the face of the Banshee Queen. She shot him a pathetic look, obviously mocking him for his emotions. The kind of emotions he knew she no longer possessed in such a way. She did still feel something, but not much, and whatever she felt she always refused to let into her heart. She seemed to grow colder as time past on, and she seemed to care very little for it. But she did show care for her people, Lor'themar swore that she showed more care for them today than she had previously, and wanted her people to have their own land, and their own powerful place in the world. That, at least, they still had in common.

_"Sometimes I feel you worry too much, General." The deep voice had startled her a little as she had been locked in deep thought. She slightly jumped from the chair she had been sitting in, a bit angry at the intruder, but smiled as soon as she saw the commander of the Farstriders smiling at her._

_"And you seem to never worry about anything. Do you think the news we received from Lordaeron is not true, then?" she asked him. He brushed his hair out of his face in response._

_"Aye, I do think it's true," he said, his face wearing an expression of sorrow. "But that won't ever happen to Quel'Thalas," he stated. He seemed very confident in his belief, and in return it made Sylvanas more confident._

_"You must be right at that, Sunwell protect us. Surely there won't even be an invasion here. But I think it right to take some precautions, Lor'themar." The commander nodded acknowledgingly._

_"Indeed. If an invasion does occur, and the elfgates fail to protect us, which I highly doubt, then we must do it instead."_

_"Arrange a council with the others," she said, knowing Lor'themar would understand what she meant with 'others'. He bowed to her elegantly, despite her presumably inellegant position in the chair, and left to do what she asked of him. She had to admit she had missed his guidance and company since the day he was promoted to commander of the Farstriders. As she watched him go, she heard someone else giggle softly from the corner of her chamber. She presumed Lor'themar hadn't noticed her earlier, as he hadn't said a word to her._

_"What?" Sylvanas said, faking the anger in her voice._

_"Nothing. Just a wonderful little conflict playing out in front of me," the girl said as she approached Sylvanas from the bit of shadow she had been hiding in. Sylvanas playfully pushed her away in response. __The girl raised an eyebrow at her as she crossed her arms._

_"No," Sylvanas merely stated._

_"Never?"_

_"No, Cyntha. Never." Sylvanas' captain rolled her eyes at her General. It seemed to Sylvanas Cyntha enjoyed the idea of her becoming her relative more than anything else in jokes she made which were of this particular nature._

_"Not good enough for you, I take it?" Sylvanas let out a long drawn sigh. She knew Cyntha only thought it would be fun for her, so she would get her head straight and had something nice and calming to do for once, but Sylvanas on the other hand felt it was more like a distraction. Plus it could potentially ruin her friendship with the commander, even her friendship with his sister if one thought of the worst possible outcome. "Maybe after this whole thing is over, you'll change your mind." The playful tone she had in her voice had dissapeared now, making it seem as if she actually hoped Sylvanas would change her mind on the whole manner. Perhaps she should give it a shot, she presumed Lor'themar would be as interested in her in this way as Sylvanas would be in him. Which meant they would both rather persue a deep and meaningful friendship rather than anything else. However, Sylvanas would not completely deny the possibility that she might just change her mind._

_"Maybe. But for now, we should really start arranging Quel'Thalas's defences," she stated. Cyntha nodded, remarkably similar to the way her brother had done the same thing earlier. Focussing on their similairities for once, Sylvanas only now noticed they both resembled their mother in a number of ways in their physical appearance. But most remarkably was their hair, for that looked exactly like that of their father. When the sun shone high, the hair of the Theron siblings would look like it was more white than it was blond. The way they acted, however, sometimes seemed as different as the night was from the day._

_"Although I wish we didn't have to. I feel for the humans, no being deserves to meet their downfall. Especially not in that way.." Sylvanas say Cyntha shake her head and struggle to find her tongue again. For the briefest of moments, Sylvanas thought she saw tears twinkle in her eyes from the dim light in the room. "Dreadful," she finally managed. "Just awful.."_

_"I know, Cynth. But I'm sure this will all be resolved soon. If the former-Crown Prince will be so foolish as to attack us, we will deprive the world of him swiftly. He won't know what hit him." Sylvanas smirked at her own statement, thinking of herself piercing the traitor Prince's heart with one of her arrows._

_"We will," the girl said, a flicker of anger burning in her eyes, but soon to be replaced by sorrow once again. Sylvanas knew she must have lost a few friends as the capital city had fallen to the traitor, Prince Arthas. It had seemed to her as if she, her two sisters and Cyntha were the only elves to trust humans and see them as equal beings. **Perhaps that is why we get along so well**, Sylvanas mused to herself. It was true that she felt a similar bond with Cyntha as she felt with both of her sisters. If it had not been for her now deceased brother Lirath, she might have never gotten to know Cyntha as well as she did today. And for that she was ever so thankful, as Cyntha's way of thinking provided a deeper insight for her concerning a number of things. Which was why she preferred to work with her as she was planning Quel'Thalas' defences around this time. Perhaps her youth was what made her seem so different at times, but really, Cyntha felt just the same to Sylvanas as she did to herself. In these dark times, it was good to have a friend around. She only wished her sisters could have been here as well.._

As Sylvanas saw Lor'themar standing there, now seemingly paying more attention to his surroundings than before, she wondered where those times had gone. Some things seemed like they had occured just the other day, while other things seemed to have happened a lifetime ago. She also wondered what would have happened if her worst fears had not been realized, and that Arthas would have looked the other way somehow, despite the fact that Sylvanas realized very clearly why the traitor Prince had destroyed Quel'Thalas. She knew would have to tell Lor'themar about his sister, tell him all she knew, that much he deserved. _But after this is over, and not a moment before that._

_._

_A/N: This next bit occurs at the same time as Sylvanas' flashback._

He remembered it as if it happend yesterday. It had shocked him enough to see his brethren fall beside him, even more to see them being raised to the undeath. He didn't think anything could even top that. Oh, how wrong he had been.. That day, Lor'themar's world as he once knew it crumbled around him.

They had not recieved word from anyone for quite some time when word came that the Sunwell had fallen. They had been heartbroken, shamefully defeated and full of sorrow for their fallen. As soon as the Prince came back from Dalaran, Lor'themar was among those who joined him when he ventured into their partly destroyed city. The slaughter had been immense. It was as if they were standing in a butcher's shop rather than their beloved city. When they reached Sunstrider Spire, however, it had looked much worse than that.. No words could describe it, but if one spoke of it softly, it was dreadful.. horrendous..

Lor'themar remembered seeing the bodies of the coucilors, of the King.. the rangers.. and that of his father.. He wished he could say his father looked peaceful in death, but then he would be lying. He had been, quite literally, hacked to pieces. Upon seeing that dreadful image, Lor'themar had vowed that he would avenge him, avenge all of them! He would destroy Arthas and Dar'Khan where they stood!

And when they had been dealt with, he was still not statisfied. He felt.. empty. As if something was greatly amiss. He had pushed that feeling back, ignoring it for as long as he could. But then, when Garrosh was leading the blood elves down the same path as their Prince had after the destruction of their kingdom, that feeling returned. It must have reminded him of what he had promised himself to do years ago. He had also vowed to find out what had happend to his family. The horrible thought that Arthas might have raised them from the dead was most likely, but that small chance his mother and sister were somewhere in the world, or in Outland for that matter, still clung to his mind. He had to put his feelings to rest, somehow.

He clasped his sword tightly, ready for an oncoming attack. _Sylvanas knows, that much is certain. _He concentrated deeply, once again pushing his feelings and personal problems back, ready to defend his people.

* * *

_A/N: I couldn't resist the possible Lor'themar x Sylvanas pairing urge. I think FF needs more of those to be honest. ^_^_

_I hope you liked this chapter!_


	3. Chapter II: A Magister Has His Knowledge

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**Life As We Have Lead It**

Chapter II

_A Magister Has His Knowledge_

_Disclaimer: Sometimes, when making real world references to a game, you forget you aren't the one who has created one of the most amazing fantasy worlds in our existence. Instead, Blizzard has the true heroes. (And by 'real world references', I meant that I sometimes (accidentally) mention stuff like "Thank Aman'thul" instead of.. normal things. Yay for awkwardness? Fine! I only do that stuff in-game anyway! Technically still a real world reference though. :3 )_

_A/N: in response to a review I got from a guest:_

_I did feel that the previous chapter was short too. But I felt it made more sense to have that chapter and this one be seperate from one another, as I made use of a bit of a time jump between the previous chapter and this one. (I actually fixed the previous chapter as of december 2013)_

_I also tend to write when I have inspiration, therefore it could sometimes take a little while longer for me to update. If I sit down and try to write whatever comes to mind, that stuff is usually of poor quality and therefore I tend to avoid doing that._

* * *

As Lor'themar strode back and forth on the small stairway in the first chamber of Sunfury Spire, Grand Magister Rommath gave him a puzzled look. After having looked at his Regent Lord like this for about a minute, his expression turned sceptical.

"I wonder what he's up to," he thought out loud, aware that all within close proximity, including the Regent Lord himself, were able to hear him. Lor'themar turned his head for a moment, sighed, and continued his pacing.

"It's complicated, at least from what I was able to understand," Ranger General Halduron Brightwing said softly as he leaned in closer to Rommath, eventually passing by and walking up the stairs to where Lor'themar was still pacing around. The guards seemed to virtually ignore the situation, as if such a thing happened every single day. Rommath saw Halduron whispering something into Lor'themar's ear, who nodded in response, and after a compassionate look Halduron gave him, he just went back the way he came. Rommath could not be more furious. How dare they discuss matter of such importance that the Regent Lord would behave utmost inappropriately right in front of him without his consent! Surely if it was this important, Lor'themar would seek counsel from him as well!

Carefully composing his face and narrowly withholding himself from stamping his feet, Rommath walked up the stairs to his Regent Lord with a false offer of counsel, more so to find out what in the name of the Sunwell was going on.

"My Lord," Rommath tried, his voice almost a whisper despite his anger. "what troubles you so? If there is anything I can -"

"No," the Regent Lord merely stated before carelessly walking away to his chambers, without so much as a glace in Rommath's direction.

"Surely my opinion is as valuable as that of Halduron!" he shouted, surprised at the tone of his own voice. Lor'themar slowly turned around to face his advisor.

"Yes," he said. "But this is no matter of counsel. It is much more personal than simple politics." Now Rommath was more confused than he had ever been at the situation.

"What?" he managed, his voice cracking at the word as he had spoken as if he had simply been breathing. He saw the leader in front of him sigh, and finally signalled for him to follow. Rommath obeyed without question, his pace hastened because his curiosity got the better of him. He glanced at the guards standing watch, who once again did not even do as much as to glance back at him. Rommath had always secretly wondered what would happen if he were to suddenly aim a small fire spell at one of them, but he had always withheld himself from actually doing it. That was not a proper thing for a Grand Magister to do, after all.

After having walked a bit with the Regent Lord, they reached his quarters. It had always interested Rommath to some extent as to why the Regent Lord would not let anyone else open a door for him, he never even made use of a bit of magic to open a door for him. But as soon as Rommath followed him inside of Lor'themar's sitting chamber, all of that interest and his feelings of curiosity immediately disappeared and made way for feelings of worry. The usually tidy chamber was a complete and utter mess; books were scattered all over the floor, complete with paperwork, some of which looked like they had been torn from the books themselves.

"What in the name of -" he began, but he would swallow his words as Lor'themar shot him an angry look. Rommath had not seen him angry very often, but when he did, it was always best for him to keep his mouth shut and let the Regent Lord speak freely before giving him any counsel or even as much as a word to deal with.

After Rommath had sat down with Lor'themar for a while, he explained to the Grand Magister what had been bothering him before and after the Siege of Orgrimmar. It had surprisingly little to do with the recent state of affairs. He told him about his family, something Rommath had never heard him mention at least a word of. It took him more than an hour to talk about his parents, and up until this point, the words had been nothing but of praise and of happiness. Then he got to the Scourge invasion, and told Rommath of the brutal slaughter of his father. Then of the whereabouts of his mother and how that was all completely unknown to him. He had always tried desperately to forget about it, and he had accepted the fact that his mother was dead. But more and more, so he told him, he had started to believe that this might not at all been true. She might still be out there, perhaps in Outland, or maybe hiding somewhere in Azeroth, Lor'themar simply did not know. As he spoke of this, Rommath swore he could see a tear glitter in the Regent Lord's eye in the candlelight of the chamber, but then wondered if he had imagined it. Lor'themar then shrugged, taking a bite of the bread which Rommath had conjured for them earlier. A lopsided little smile appeared on his face.

"And I haven't even gotten started on telling you about my sister yet."

"I didn't know you had a sister, Lor'themar," Rommath said, his eyes widening slightly in his suprise. He had always thought that Lor'themar had been an only child, as most elves were due to their long life spans. _(__A/N: meaning there is no natural need for elves to reproduce a lot.) _Rommath had never imagined a Lor'themar who would be caring for siblings, he couldn't really picture him doing that.. But he had never given it much thought before, either. And the more he thought about it, the more it started to all make sense to him.

"Oh, I had a sister alright.. When I think of all the people I have met over the years, she is still the one who is most dear to me. You can imagine I would like to know what happened to her as well.." Lor'themar sighed deeply, staring into the cup of tea he had picked up from the table in front of them. It had been standing on an open book, the letters somewhat smudged after the bottom of the cup had soaked its pages quite a bit.

"And she.. who was she again?" Rommath said, despite never having heard a thing about her.

"A ranger. She was almost as precise as Sylvanas herself with her bow, and a dear friend of hers too. That is likely why she rose to such a high rank within our corps so easily, and at a relatively young age," he mused softly.

"So then.. perhaps the Banshee Queen knows more about her, where she was seen last." Lor'themar glared at him, narrowing his eyes so that they appeared almost closed. Now, Rommath saw that the eye he knew he couldn't see with very clear, reminding himself of how the Regent Lord had lost it to begin with. This had likely been around the same time he lost his entire family, he knew now.

"Do you take me for a complete fool, Grand Magister? Do you not think I would have gone to her first and foremost?"

"I - but of course!" he quickly tried to counter. "What happens, then? If I may, of course.."

"She told me the same thing she has always told me, mostly. 'You don't want to know, Lor'themar'." Rommath tried his best not to giggle at the way Lor'themar imitated the Banshee Queen's voice. He was obviously as fed up with the situation as elvenly possible as it was. He had to try his best not to anger him any further. He did understand why the Regent Lord was so upset, it had to be very frustrating not knowing what happened to one's family. A sudden thought occurred to him, however.

"I realize Halduron was as much as a friend to you before.. before it all happened as he is today, Lord Regent. But I am just wondering why he knew what was bothering you before I did."

"I told him after the siege I had sought out a private audience with Sylvanas again on the subject of my sister. Halduron has been close to her in the past, so I think it only right for him to know about her as much as I do." He sighed again, drawing a huge gulp from his cup before he continued speaking. "Sylvanas did finally add something to her tale which worries me even more. I now know why she kept it from me. It would have distracted me from my duties as Regent Lord of Quel'Thalas, and instead I would be trying to seek out my sister, wherever she may have gone." Rommath gave him a puzzled look.

"So.. she did manage to get away, I take it?" It was nothing like a ranger to run when duty called. It was dishonourable to say the least. This did not sound like a sibling of Lor'themar, nor did it sound like someone whom Sylvanas would have named a friend in life.

"Sylvanas told me she **ordered **my sister to go. She knew they were cornered and hunted down by the Scourge as far as they could have been. She knew that this would be their final stand against Arthas, and she forced my sister to leave.. It did not surprise me when she added that Cyntha simply would not run, only when Sylvanas had gone as far as to draw her blade at her did she listen. I am grateful for that, although I know in my heart Cyntha must have hated herself for obeying her General. But I also know she holds a command for what it is: a command, always to be obeyed and never ignored. Which leaves me with one final question; the same question I had when I started my investigation: where is she now?"

"Wait, what did you say her name was?" Rommath asked, trying to hide his surprise because he was honestly not sure if he had heard the name right, despite knowing Lor'themar had mentioned it more than once.

"Cyntha," Lor'themar replied, looking at Rommath with curiosity. As he saw the slight surprise on the Grand Magister's face, his eyes widened slightly.

"I.. I think I know of a Cyntha. I am not sure whether or not she could be your sister but – I have almost certainly met one."

"When?" Lor'themar said, his voice demanding. Rommath could see him immediately trying to calm himself, and thus he waited a moment longer before he spoke again. "Please, even if you're not sure – I would like to know."

"I fully understand that, Lord Regent," Rommath said, taking some time to remember the person he thought was named 'Cyntha' more clearly. "If I am correct, and I do hope I am, I have met a Cyntha when I joined with Kael'thas in Dalaran to aid the humans." His voice changed somewhat when he uttered the last word, disgust and self-loathing present in it.

"Go on," Lor'themar urged. "Describe her to me." The Grand Magister nodded, trying to remember what she looked like.

"She – I think her hair colour seemed to represent the light of the sun. Actually, that is what I thought when I saw her for the first time, now that I think of it. Her eyes – glowing like sapphires. She had a few scars running along her arms, neck and cheeks. Although she must have gotten those during the invasion of Quel'Thalas. She spoke in a soft voice, not like a whisper but more like a kind voice I feel, and – she was most definitely a Farstrider. She still wore part of their traditional attire, along with a few small rips, but so minor they were still perfectly wearable." He noticed Lor'themar had been holding his breath for a while as his cheeks had turned slightly red. "My Lord?" he asked, waving his hand in front of his face. Finally, Lor'themar let his breath he had been holding out, nearly gasping for air afterwards.

"Yes.. That – that sounds like it could very well have been Cyntha.."

"If so, then she has gone with us to Outland," Rommath stated. "Of course after that, the Prince has ordered me back to Quel'Thalas, so I cannot remember anything else."

"But this is more than I could have hoped for, Rommath! Don't you see? There are plenty of blood elves within Outland who are loyal to the Horde! Surely someone must know Cyntha!" Lor'themar jumped up from his seat, dropping his nearly empty cup of tea on the carpet and spilling its contents over it.

"Erm – your mother.." Rommath tried to remind him. Lor'themar however, waved it away dismissively.

"That will be a thing for later. She – no.. I can't do that.. I have to -" The Regent Lord dropped back into his seat, slowly reaching for his forehead and finally resting his head in the palm of his hand. "How could I possibly forget.. my mother.."

"It was probably -" Rommath began, but Lor'themar interrupted him by holding his hand up.

"There is no excuse for that. I can't forget my mother. How could I?" He sighed deeply, sinking back into the mood he had been in all day, before his talk with the Grand Magister.

"Where has she been sighted last?" he asked him, thinking he knew the answer nevertheless.

"Stillwater Pond, or at least near that part of the Elrendar River. She was a sorceress," Lor'themar said, looking up once more from the floor he had been staring at.

"I will personally ask all magi of whatever rank who may or may not have been in that area of the whereabouts of Lady Theron, as I assume that is the title she was known under."

Lor'themar nodded slowly in acknowledgement, then added: "Lady Ciria Theron, if it helps."

"That it does," Rommath said, forcing himself to stand up from the surprisingly comfortable seat and decided it was best to leave the Regent Lord alone with his thought for now, as he went on to investigate the matter of his mother. After all, there was barely anything else to do that wasn't rebuilding the Horde. Vol'jin and Thrall would take care of that, and if not, Baine would, of that they could be sure. As he closed the door behind him ever so carefully, only half-aware that he wasn't doing this with magic as he had always done, he heard a soft weeping behind the door. He then knew he had been right, it was indeed time to leave Lor'themar Theron alone with his thoughts for a while. He would make sure he would tell Halduron of this later, perhaps also so that he could aid him in finding Lor'themar's mother. And who knew, they might encounter more of those who were 'missing in action'. The more people getting pleased, the better.

.

As happily as Rommath had taken on the task of finding Lady Ciria Theron eventually, he would come to regret it just as much. At first he thought he had a good start, meeting a few who had useful information on the possible whereabouts of the Lady. But now, he had reached a dead end, with no one left to talk to and assuming he was not even close to finding out what happened to her.

He had found himself in the Ghostlands somehow, having spoken to Magister Idonis in the Sanctum of the Sun recently. He had been lead to this point by various others, learning that Lor'themar posessed his mother's spirit in terms of love, as she had been looking for her daughter after learning of the attack. This was where she was sighted last, right here on the grounds around the Sanctum. It made sense after all, since the Lady had been desperate to find her endangered child, she would not stand by and wait for anyone to accompany her in her search. So obviously there had to be a dead end somewhere. Rommath smacked the palm of his hand to his forehead, asking himself what in the name of the Sunwell he'd gotten himself into. After foolishly making his Regent Lord think the Grand Magister would be able to locate his mother, he could not return to him with this silly story. He figured he had to find someone who posessed the required skills to locate people, surely there had to be someone somewhere with such good investigational abilities?

* * *

_A/N: I hope that whoever reads this kind of thing likes what I've done with this chapter. I don't want Lor'themar to come across as a weakling or something like that. (Which is why he tries to hide exitement/sorrow from others.)_

_I'll try to get the next chapter to be a bit longer than my first 2 (obviously not counting the prologue), although it depends on what I will be writing for them of course._

_Thank you for reading this far into it anyways. :)_


	4. Chapter III : Well Met

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**Life As We Have Lead It..**

Chapter III

_Well Met_

_Disclaimer: "Yes, I ordered -myself- to distribute -this story-. But the sole credit is not mine." -sort of Kel'Thuzad. Really I stole a quote from him and changed it up. My apologies Lich Lord. Also, the sole credit for the universe and most characters concerning this story, of course, goes to Blizzard!_

* * *

As he stood there, listening to the elf in front of him rambling on about his employees, Rommath tried to tear his gaze away from the filth in the room. Torn banners, mud on the floor, the dirty clothes his employees and himself were wearing and water that looked questionable in terms of colour were quite the opposite from what he was used to in Sunfury Spire. More importantly, the servant girls, who were fetching things for the men sitting in the old chairs scattered around the room, were dressed very inappropriately. So much so that Rommath wondered if he hadn't accidentally stepped into a brothel of some sorts. If it were a brothel, it was an extremely cheap one to say the least.

"- and they will be able to locate your criminal perfectly well, Grand Magister," the man said with a bow to Rommath. He had not been paying the man the slightest bit of attention, and came to the realization that the elf must have been naming a few of his employees and their qualities. That would have been useful to know actually, unlike the likely false praise he had been giving them before. And all that in the hope that Rommath would pay him significantly more than he normally would. He did not care much for gold however, as he had plenty of it with him.

"I am not seeking out a criminal, merely a lost family member," he stated, receiving a confused expression from the employer. "I want your best man on this job, someone I will be able to trust, someone with a good eye for clues and someone who is not afraid of danger."

"Uhm.. yes! I know just the person for you!" he said as he rushed off to whoever he thought would be able to help the Grand Magister in his quest. Rommath sighed deeply, impatiently tapping his feet on the muddy floor. The man took his fine time searching for his 'best employee', but he came back eventually. His expression was not one Rommath was too keen on; as he looked slightly worried. "My exeptional employee is currently on a mission, but he should be back within the hour. I'm certain of it, my Lord."

"I have no time for games, fetch me your second-best then."

"But, my lord -"

"No. Did you not hear me before? I said I have no time for your petty games!" The tone of Rommath's voice startled the man. And sure enough he ran off again even faster than he had previously, to get his second-best employee. Or so it was according to the man himself. Upon his return, there was indeed someone walking behind him. The person wore a dark cloak with a few rips and stains running along it, and seemed in no particular hurry to meet the magister. He strode along nicely, and stopped a few steps behind his employer as the man collected the gold Rommath gave him to pay upfront for his mercenary's assistance. "This better be worth it." Rommath hissed to the employer.

"It certainly is, my Lord," he said whilst nodding his head, bowing once again and walking away with a hastened was happy that the man left as quickly as he did, for he started to look like a greedy goblin to him more as the moments went by, showing a distinct lack of care for both Rommath and his so called 'minors'. He signalled for the rogue to follow him, and the mercenary obeyed. _This better be worth it, _he thought to himself. _I would not see my time wasted._

.

After walking for a while, making sure they were alone, Rommath stopped and turned to face his mercenary.

"Are you at least aware of what I ask of you?" he asked. The rogue slowly reached for his hood, sliding it down his head slowly and revealing his face. The face surprised Rommath, as he looked into a pair of bright green eyes, and an enormous scar running along the cheek of a young girl with black haired, the colour of onyx. "You are-.. I would have sworn you were a man.." he drivelled.

"That is where we differ, Grand Magister. I keep a close eye to my surroundings. For example, I have been watching you walk and listening to you grumble for a good twenty minutes now, and I have found that you are indeed a very worried individual. You do not want me to locate a criminal for you, but rather a lost family member, or so you have said to my boss at least. But truth be told, I do not think that this person you seek to find is a family member of yours, as you seem almost unmoved by this person's disappearance. You have no idea who that person even is, what he or she might look like, you only have a name, maybe a slight background as well. Am I wrong?" Rommath had been gaping at her from just moments after she had started speaking. He nodded slowly, wondering why she was doing this to him and being slightly worried at her observance of him. "Worry not, my Lord. I mean no harm. But I would ask this of you: if I find this beloved person who is currently missing, or at least discover a body of some sorts, will you pay me so much that I might finally leave my employer behind and start on my own?"

"Yes," he stated, and meaning it, as even he had felt uncomfortable being in the presence of employer she spoke of. He would have rather had that man slip on his filthy floor, falling face forward to the floor so that his poor servant girls could at least mock him for a moment.

"Then tell me, who are we looking for?" she said with a smirk on her face, stepping closer to Rommath and almost making him flinch.

"The mother of our Lord Regent, my Lady." The rogue chuckled at this statement.

"Ah! You see?" she said cheerily. "I knew that this would be a good mission to accept. I get the opportunity to receive the favor of the Regent Lord, and I get to spend a lot of alone-time with his handsome advisor. This is rapidly turning into my best mission yet. This should be more exciting than playing a simple spy or an underrated messenger hawk." Rommath had truly flinched when she called him 'handsome advisor' - what was this woman thinking?

"You seem to be a bit cheeky, my Lady," he said with a tone of anger present in his voice. "You should know that I do treat those who disrespect me and my authority very kindly." She rolled her eyes at him in response.

"If you say so, Grand Magister. I was merely complimenting you." She had her arms crossed, and yet she gave him a wink. Rommath decided to ignore that last part, for he felt like she would be a useful companion to have. After all, what did he know about locating anyone?

.

The Banshee Queen sighed in annoyance. "Of course, Sharlindra. Let him in." With a nod, the banshee floated off and left Sylvanas in her chambers, waiting for the one who sought an audience with her once again. She heard his familiar footsteps, the sound never having changed even once, despite the years. She knew what he wanted, what he would ask of her again. She knew he hungered for more information, and she had to deliver it. But she was unsure if he would not be disappointed by what she would tell him.

One thing she was certain off, it wouldn't make him very happy. But then, was he happy now? Not quite, actually far from it. These had been troubled times indeed, asking much of all faction leaders and demanding a lot of their attention. It was perfectly understandable that Lor'themar sought things to keep his mind occupied, now that all that was over for the most part. And sure, it was also understandable, albeit not very wise, that he allowed his mind to drift off to other things during times of struggle.

As his footsteps moved closer, Sylvanas sat up straight in her iron chair, waiting for him to open the door. As he walked through it and closed the door behind him, Sylvanas noted that he seemed even more colourful now that he was in Undercity, perhaps the darkest and most grim city on Azeroth. It took her some time to realize, but he was not wearing his usual attire. Not the attire of a Lord Regent, no, he wore the traditional attire of a Farstrider. This sparked her interest somewhat, but she came to realize why he wore it. He must have chosen to wear this, as she knew him to prefer the life of a Farstrider to that of a Regent Lord. He was good with politics, yes, but he never liked them as much. Neither did she - perhaps they did not drift apart as much as she thought they had after all.

"Why are you here?" she simply asked him. She saw him looking as grim as the rest of those around her usually did. He merely stared at her, his eyes narrowing, and eventually he reached up to tap his scar.

"To learn more about the invasion." Of course. Exactly what she had expected him to say. Just as all the times before, he tried to disguise the real reason. He never wanted to give in to his weakness; his family. And now both of them were without, she would not deny him the knowledge she had. Sometimes she thought back to the way they used to be, the way Quel'Thalas used to be. She had always hoped that Vereesa, her younger sister, would come to see her someday. But at the same time, she could not bear to ever look upon her again, as she would likely be shocked to her core when she saw what her sister had turned into. It was already a surprise to her that Lor'themar seemed to cope with it pretty well, despite their newfound disagreements.

"Sit." She gestured at the chair to her left, which was opposing hers by a bit. As the Regent Lord of Quel'Thalas sat down, she saw him swallow. She waited for a moment, thinking of what she was going to say to him. Finally, she decided on something. "What do you know so far?" Lor'themar narrowed his eyes at her again, opening his mouth to speak but unable to find any words. "Nevermind, I think I have a good idea. Tell me, Lord Regent, did you come for the invasion or your sister? It will spare us some time if you came just for her, after all." She heard a soft grunt coming from Lor'themar's throat in response.

"You know that, Sylvanas. I would say about half of our recent meetings were about her." Aye, he was right at that. She had spoken so much about Cyntha with her brother over the past few months, that she had begun to wonder about the girl's whereabouts herself. She thought Cyntha capable of having escaped the Scourge as Sylvanas had demanded she do. It was not like Sylvanas did not care for those she had cared for while she was living, she merely showed less emotion, even possessed less emotions in general. But she wanted her old friend to be safe and live a good life, such as Lor'themar and Vereesa. Although she knew her sister had suffered a lot recently, losing her husband to Garrosh's stupid war and having to take care of her twins, Sylvanas' nephews, all by herself now.

"Fair enough. I suppose you want more details, then. Very well. Where do you want me to start?"

"Moments before you send her away." As Lor'themar stared at her, his eyes were completely empty. This was likely because he was overflowing with different emotions. _That is one pro of no longer possessing them as much, _she thought to herself.

"We were cornered, outnumbered, and all in all done for."

"Aye, you've told me that previously. Go on," he said dismissively, waving his hand in her direction.

"You should know your sister was a fighter, saying she would die with honour and a weapon in her hand. To which I responded by telling her she was so young still, and she should not be raised to the undeath and she had her whole life ahead of her. She felt the same way about me, but seeing as I was the Ranger General and she a mere Captain, I thought it best for her to leave. To preserve her life, if you will. Perhaps you have never truly been aware of this, but I loved your sister very much. She felt like a sister to me and -" Sylvanas couldn't help but chuckle at that. She knew she must have sounded a bit darkly to the Regent Lord judging by his reaction, but her statement would mean she had three sisters, a lot more than most humans could even go out and say. "I wanted what was best for her. The others even agreed with me, one of my rangers saying that we would save anyone there was to save still, but we couldn't all run as that would make Arthas come after us and we would have to buy our brethren time." She nearly spat out the name of the former-Crown Prince of Lordaeron when she spoke of him. "Of course, she did not agree with her or with me, insisting that she would stand by our side for as long as she lived, you know the drill of that speech. So then, after a small argument with her, I realized that the longer we would stand here bickering, the less time we had for Cyntha to get away. That was when I had to pull my blade on her and, forgive me for this, even slightly cut her in the process. I think I left a scar on her arm by doing that, but honestly, I felt it was worth it. I think her capable of escaping the Scourge, but I could be wrong of course."

"No," Lor'themar said, "Rommath told me he might have met Cyntha in Dalaran. So she could be in Outland still." Sylvanas looked surprised at this. So all this time..

"Hmph. I still do not think it a good idea to go after her." Lor'themar's eyes widened at her statement and he then proceeded to glare at the Banshee Queen.

"And why might that be?"

"Would she not - oh I don't know - return to Quel'Thalas if she were still alive?" When the Regent Lord gave her no response, she rolled her eyes at him. "You are still going to try, I take it. Fine, I won't stop you. But allow me to give you a piece of advice: do not go yourself. Instead, send someone to go for you, someone who knew Cyntha previously and knows her thought process or at least what she looks like. She is your weakness Lor'themar, and it is bad enough that I know about that. Do not allow our enemies to get a hold of that information."

"I appreciate your – _concern, _Dark Lady," he said with a tone of mocking in his voice, "I will take your advice and send someone to Outland for me. I thank you for what you have told me, and for your time." He pushed himself from his chair, pressing his hand to his heart and gracefully bowing to the Queen. She bowed her head in response, and watched him leave her chambers once again. _Lor'themar, you fool. Chasing a phantom is what you're doing. _She covered her face with her palm in a gesture of annoyance. _By the Sunwell, how could he do this to himself?_

.

"Just tell me more about your previous assignments," Rommath hissed at the rogue as she proceeded to pay little attention to him, instead playing with a short stick she had picked up earlier. She studied it carefully and ran it over the palm of her hand, softly tapping the ground with her boot as she sat there.

"If it was a bit sharper, I could use it to _poke _someone."

"Sure, as if that would turn into a weapon," Rommath responded mockingly.

"Who said anything about a weapon, my Lord?" She looked up to regard him. "I specifically said _poke_." As she said poke, she threw the stick at the magister with remarkable elegance. As it bounced off his arm, he looked at her furiously. Rommath found her to be very annoying, not answering his questions, but what was most infuriating to him: she disrespected him. She was rude and he could not see how she could ever be a second-best mercenary. Or perhaps he could, judging by the place her employer owned and the way he kept it. "Oh, not one for taking jokes? Fine. I have learnt the arts of the rogue, but got most lousy jobs that needed to be taken care of. As I said before, playing courier and listening to conversations. And those conversations were mostly about men who couldn't keep their wives in check, so nothing really interesting there."

"That's it, then? You have never actually located someone? Why did I get you to assist me, again?" Rommath frowned at the female in front of him.

"Look, I have had very little to do after we got that job of cleaning up a few Scourge agents. There is literally nothing in this location other than filth and undead. It was better when we were stationed in Silvermoon, but some guy bought our previous residence as my employer was blinded by the amount of gold that guy held out in front of him. So we basically lost more than half of our regular clients and all interesting jobs. I had only just joined his 'company' if you will, so I had not received any of the interesting jobs. And to answer what you must have been thinking, I am second-best only because the previous idiots got killed whilst we were cleaning up undead. The one he claims is his best is more incompetent than he is funny, although I doubt that will make much sense to you, and is only named as best because the boss dislikes me."

"Can't imagine why.." Rommath sighed. The female rolled her eyes at him in response to his comment.

"Do I take it you are not going to ask for my name?" She smiled at him sweetly, waiting for him to indeed ask for her name.

"Fine, tell me." He let his head rest in the palm of his hand, letting his elbow lean on his knee so that he had to put in the least bit of effort to withhold himself from falling asleep after so many hours of staying awake.

"You will need a campfire before you can sleep. You don't want something to sneak up to us, or should I say you as I will wake up in time, and kill you. Also, that is not a question, my Lord." As she uttered her last words, she let herself drop forward to the ground and started creeping over to him.

"Stay away from me," he simply said, pushing his free hand to her forehead to keep her away. "This is beyond just joking around, and I demand a certain amount of respect. Even from a young girl like yourself."

"Do you like young girls, Grand Magister? I personally like men with power, who are very handsome and very smart. Perhaps a few nice tattoos will do well.." she giggled.

"I mean it, stop being this way."

"Fine, fine." She sat up straight, having moved closer to Rommath. "I shall not be _that _way."

"Are you always like this, my Lady?" His eyes narrowed as he spoke, as he partly expected her to jump on him if he were to let his guard down.

"Only to those who do not respect me. You demand that I respect you, yet you see me as a piece of something, a thing that you can command and let it do whatever you may desire. I'm not that kind of person, good sir." He had certainly not expected her to do that. He had thought her to be – well.. an easy kind of girl. Now she was literally the opposite of that, just out of nowhere.

"Oh, well I -" he muttered.

"Stop. You'll only make it worse." She crept back to where she had been sitting previously, a bit further away from Rommath. She crouched in such a way that she would not lift her behind up even slightly for Rommath to get a good look at it.

"Might I still ask you for your name, my Lady?" As he spoke, his voice sounded more kindly than it ever had in the presence of this rogue.

"Only if you stop mistreating me, Grand Magister. We are to be partners, likely for quite some time. I can't be around someone I dislike for that long a while." She crossed her arms to her chest, taking a deep breath while she waited for him to say something in return.

"I will treat you more appropriately."

"Fine. I suppose that is the best I can get, for now at least. My name is Elrendi."

"After the river?" Rommath asked her, indeed thinking of the Elrendar River.

"Yes, I'm sorry not everyone has had a birth as exiting as mine."

"Interesting," he muttered to himself. "An underwater birth. Your parents must have been nice people to be around."

"I don't want to talk about them. Now why don't you go out of your way to make us a nice fire. I will get the wood, don't worry, you don't have to _stand up _or anything. Just work a little more magic than I can and we should be good for the night." He watched her trot off to find wood for their fire. He began wondering if she would indeed be a capable partner, and if he would be able to last with her until Lady Ciria Theron was eventually located.


	5. Chapter IV : Otherworldly

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**Life As We Have Lead It..**

Chapter IV

_Otherworldly_

_Disclaimer: If I owned more of the characters than I currently do, I'm not gonna lie, that would be stupendous. Instead, I have to credit the force of nature that is Blizzard._

_A/N: This one took a little longer than I expected. My apologies for that. First, I came down with one of the annual winter diseases and then I had to present my final paper (I can only assume that's what it's called in English). In case something stupid like this happens again, merry Christmas in advance! ^-^_

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Sylvanas strode along a silent alley in the Ruins of Lordaeron. She never liked it much here, but it did give her the perfect opportunity to meet someone in private. No one would know about it, except perhaps the occasional guard or two noticing her, but she doubted they would even be able to recognise her considering the way she was dressed currently. She had disguised herself as a proper dark ranger, and was therefore not in her old ranger attire which had been worn out over the years. She briefly glanced over her shoulder as she passed into yet another alley, hoping to find the one she had called upon soon. She made no secret of her annoyance at the fact that the person seemed nowhere near her, as she had been walking around in circles for about half an hour now. Sylvanas could see the sun casting its beams on the top of the highest towers already, and she had no desire of spending even a minute in daylight. She quickened her pace, as if it would somehow help her encounter her precious val'kyr. She expected her to be on reanimating duty, but it was only a minor excuse for showing up so late. Or so early, depending on how one wishes to look at it.

.

"Well?"

"Nothing, my Lord." Lor'themar sighed impatiently at the Ranger General's answer. A few weeks had already past since the Grand Magister had taken on the initiative of locating the Regent Lord's mother. Now, Lor'themar was walking with his advisor and long-time friend Halduron through the hallways of Sunfury Spire.

"I would have expected to have heard at least something from Rommath by now."

"You know how he can be sometimes. He is probably not taking this whole business too seriously."

"I doubt that, Halduron. True, he can be – difficult at times, but he _will_take whatever I ask of him seriously." Halduron shook his head, if only slightly, in response. Of course this would be difficult to make out, as the hallways were mostly candle-lit due to the fact that it was past dusk and that Lor'themar was looking ahead of him most of the time.

"Sure, if we are talking politics and strategy, but this is a different matter entirely." Lor'themar rolled his eyes at the Ranger General's words. Although he had to admit, maybe there was some truth to them.

"Believe what you will, I still think he will do as I ask."

"I would like to see some proof first before I believe something like that." Halduron stopped in the middle of the hallway and closed his eyes for a moment, making Lor'themar turn around to face him. "He would have sent word if he took this seriously."

"Or he is too busy, or perhaps he has not progressed far enough to send word." As Lor'themar raised an eyebrow at the Ranger General, Halduron shrugged and kept silent. "Now that we've once again found ourselves on this subject again, what do you propose we do about my sister, hm?" Halduron bit his lower lip in thought, evidently struggling to find words. After about a minute of standing around in silence, Lor'themar decided to bring his own proposition to the conversation. "I was thinking about sending you to Shattrath, seeing as Cyntha's last whereabouts could be considered to be in Outland," Upon hearing this, Halduron looked a bit confused. "And seeing as you knew her, who better to send than you?" Lor'themar smiled briefly, waiting for the Ranger General to respond.

"I -.." Halduron closed his mouth quickly, pausing as he seemingly waited for words to come to mind. "While this is somewhat of an honour, I do think it more - important _- _to focus on the future of our people." The eyes of the Regent Lord narrowed as Halduron continued to speak. "While I know this is important to you, I think it will be better if-" He couldn't hear much of what Halduron was saying anymore. His eyes had trailed off to a window near him. He could only just make out The Blue Child rising to the heavens above the many buildings in Silvermoon, casting its dim light on their city. Even that mother and child relationship the moons of their world were often associated with now served to remind Lor'themar that his sister was probably out there.. all by herself maybe.. He couldn't care less what Halduron said at this point, he had waited long enough now. If he would not help him, Lor'themar would have to go himself. Halduron was still rambling on, the Regent Lord decided now was the time to interrupt him at last.

"I will go myself then if you won't do it. Someone will go, one way or another." Halduron quickly closed his mouth, his eyes widening slightly as Lor'themar spoke on. "I will leave you in charge here, make sure you consult other people when making important decisions. You know the drill. And when Rommath returns from his – his mission, he will be in charge alongside you. No bickering, I'm sure I will hear of it otherwise when I return."

"But Lor'themar, wouldn't it-" he began, but Lor'themar quickly cut off his sentence.

"No. You decided not to go, that's fine. But I will. You know how long I've been stuck with this – this thought of some things which might have been going on. I have to know the truth now, there is no other way. I can't function well as a leader if I don't know, and you know that better than anyone else. There is no point in trying to discuss this with me, we've been through this plenty of times." Halduron merely nodded, pressing his lips into a thin line as he crossed his arms to his chest. "I will leave tomorrow." Lor'themar finally decided, and once again the Ranger General merely nodded along. Lor'themar knew that Halduron realized his Regent Lord had to do this, and that he was right when he said that he wouldn't be able to function well as a leader if he didn't.

"Just – be careful. You never know what idiotic figures may lurk about in Outland."

"The battle-kind or the kind where I have to put a disguise on in order to avoid them?"

"Both." Halduron said. He then turned to walk away in a hasty pace, leaving Lor'themar to watch him go. His old friend was almost unrecognisable in Ranger General Halduron Brightwing, but the fact that he understood him was enough for Lor'themar. He knew Halduron to act oddly when he began speaking of his family. Perhaps the whole thing made him uncomfortable for some reason. That might be something Lor'themar would never understand. For now, he had other things to focus on.

.

Sylvanas stood leaning against a wall in the Ruins of Lordaeron, still waiting on her servant to come to her. It had been an hour now. _She better have a damn good reason for showing up this late._

"My Queen?" came a soft voice. _Finally._

"Where have you been, Aradne?" Sylvanas grunted, moving one of her feet up to lean against the wall as well. She crossed her arms to her chest and waited for her val'kyr to respond.

"I have experienced some difficulties with the Alliance. Nothing too serious but it prevented me from heeding your call, my Lady." Sylvanas sighed openly.

"What was it this time, and at this hour?"

"A mere assault on my life, I honestly have no idea why they thought it was a good idea to attack at night. Perhaps -"

"A night that is almost over, thanks to your lack of commitment, Aradne." Sylvanas interrupted. Aradne flapped her wings in surprise, then realized it was perhaps a better idea to stand down and landed. Indeed, the sunlight was now very present. It is that they were standing in an alley, otherwise they would be standing around in the light Sylvanas had grown to resent so much.

"I apologize deeply for that, Dark Lady. I intended -"

"Yes, yes, apologies." Sylvanas said, waving one hand at her val'kyr dismissively. "How are things in Hillsbrad?"

"Things are well in Hillsbrad, my Lady. Despite the attack I informed you off, we have been able to recruit a lot of new Forsaken and we have succeeded in repelling the Alliance somewhat further."

"Good. I expect no less than that, but I would have suspected more. But please, spare me the details for now, you are here for a different matter entirely. You must remember a lot of things from the time you were in service of the Lich King, right?" Sylvanas saw Aradne's face take on a look of deep disgust, as much as she could make of it at least.

"I remember those times all too well, Dark Lady. It was more than dreadful."

"Yes, indeed it was. But I want you to tell me of well known elves like myself, who had unfortunately found themselves serving the Lich King. Give me a few names." Aradne took some time to think her answers through. Sylvanas suspected she did not immediately know what to say to this, or perhaps she was wondering why her Queen would ask this of her. But despite her apparent doubts, she told Sylvanas nevertheless.

"Well, there was Koltira as you know, Blood Queen Lana'thel, Prince Keleseth, Andorath -"

"Wait Aradne, I want you to go through elves the Blood Queen seemed to hold dear." Aradne looked very confused at this, slightly tilting her head to her mistress as if she was a puppy hearing a command it didn't understand.

"There were no such elves, my Queen." Sylvanas raised an eyebrow. _It couldn't be that Lana would.. No, she would keep her in high regards for sure.._

"There must have been. I'm thinking a female elf she gave a lot of praise and a relatively high position perhaps."

"There really were no such people, my Lady."

"Someone named Ciria, or perhaps even Cyntha."

"I have never heard of anyone with either of those names, my Lady."

"Lor'themar might just be right.." she whispered to herself, not entirely aware Aradne could hear her. Sylvanas stared in front of her, not sure what to think anymore.

"About what, my Lady?" the val'kyr tried.

"Nothing." Sylvanas said, still staring away in front of her at the floor. "I think it is time for us to part ways."

"Yes, of course. Farewell, Lady Windrunner." Aradne said, bowing elegantly before her Queen before she flapped her wings and took to the skies. _Lana'thel wouldn't disregard Cyntha, not even in death. Perhaps she IS still alive.. Perhaps there is hope for her after all.. Blessed ancestors, I pray she is alive and well. For I gave my life to protect her and our people, I want her to be alive. She deserves as much for all she has given us. _With one last sigh, Sylvanas strode away to the Undercity, strangely longing for the comfort of her chambers as she never slept. She felt more alive than she had in years after the conversation with her precious val'kyr.

.

"Whereto, sir?" came a sweet voice. Rommath was only half awake when he heard it, but shockingly woke fully when he felt someone knocking his forehead. "Sweet Sunwell, you sleep sound. I can tell you're not used to the outside world. You must have been sleeping in fancy rooms with servants to attend to your every need." He saw Elrendi rolling her eyes as she sat on her knees in front of him. He narrowed his eyes at her in annoyance, then realized what she asked previously.

"We will be going along the path Sylvanas Windrunner's ranger corps is known to have been defending Quel'Thalas around during the Scourge Invasion."

"Can't wait." she said, standing up in a swift, easy move. Rommath could only wish it would look quite as good when he did the same, having to push himself from the ground with effort, not at all used to the circumstances he currently found himself in. When he turned around, he saw Elrendi raising an eyebrow at him with her arm stretched out slightly as if she were to give him a handshake.

"You know, I would have helped you stand."

"Thank you for the gesture." His eyes flashed from her face to her still stretched out arm and back to her face.

"Do I make you uncomfortable, Grand Magister?" she said slowly, pulling her arm back to touch her hair. She used her fingers as a brush while she closed her eyes and seemed to pretend Rommath wasn't there.

"I have not been comfortable since the minute I stepped into the – house? - of your employer."

"See that I can imagine." she said as she lowered her arm once again. "But I don't see myself as poor company."

"You're not I suppose, you are just vaguely annoying." Elrendi giggled at that statement.

"And you are as arrogant and stupidly proud as a male hawkstrider that doesn't realize that most of its long feathers have shed." she grinned. "We complete each other in a good way, perhaps. Now, if you'll excuse me, you really need to tell me what to do. I want to earn my payment."

"Fine. Come along." Rommath gave her a silent hand gesture to come and follow him as he turned. He pulled out a magical map from his pocket to see where they were going.

"Show me." Elrendi suddenly said.

"Show you what?" Rommath only now realized he had dropped the formalities with her. It wasn't like he cared all that much about it to begin with, but it felt a little awkward after years of speaking only formal.

"The map.." She raised an eyebrow at him. "I want to see where we're heading, my Lord." she sneered. Rommath softly bit the inner side of his cheek as he tapped the map with his fingers. An area lit up in a reddish hue to indicate where Sylvanas' corps had been. There was also a small blue dot to indicate where they currently were. "Ah, I see. So it is useful to study magic after all. You should teach me to do that."

"Sure." he said mockingly, thinking the girl unable to learn a lot of magic. Elrendi studied him for a moment longer, flipping her short black hair back and putting her hood up.

"Let's just go." she said as she gave Rommath's shoulder a slight nudge to indicate him to move along. "But don't tuck away the map just yet." She snatched it from his hands and kept looking at it as they walked. Rommath would let her, unwilling to talk more to her than he deemed necessary. More and more, she looked like a child to him. Sure, she was only just an adult, but she should behave a bit more as a grown up than she currently was. Or perhaps that was just him thinking that was normal, perhaps he was too old fashioned and too caught up in conversations with noble ladies from about her age over the years. His image of a young girl could be completely inaccurate. He wondered if he would be able to continue to co-operate with her for as long as it would take them to find the Lady Ciria Theron.

As they had been walking along for quite some time, Rommath had begun to wonder how one would find clues as to where a person could have gone. He had wanted to ask Elrendi earlier, but she had started looking around in areas with any form of buildings in it. So far, it had only been a few broken old houses. Rommath only then came to realize they were near the border already. As he turned his head to regard the sun, he realized night had fallen already. He had not eaten anything, nor had he been drinking anything for that matter. As he realized this, he felt his throat being a bit dry and he heard his stomach rumble due to a lack of food.

"My Lady rogue?" he mused as he watched her scout another broken building in the distance. "My Lady rogue!" he now called out to her. She immediately turned around and charged him. Rommath was afraid she would pound on him for a split second, but she stopped a few feet in front of him.

"Never – call me – a ro – rogue again." she panted. "I – am a mercenary. Or an assassin – whichever you – prefer. I'm not a – mindless rogue."

"Fine. I only stated you looked like one, the way you were going around. I was wondering if you were interested in refreshment." Elrendi's eyes widened as he said that.

"Finally! I'm parched! And as hungry as a whale shark!" She sat down in front of him as he gave her a small smile and began conjuring some refreshments for them. A bit of water and some buttered bread would do, he felt. He carefully handed Elrendi her refreshments and watched her quickly gulp down her cup of water as he gracefully drank his own. After she wiped her mouth with her sleeve, she regarded him.

"Thank you." she said softly. "Would it be too much to ask for some more?" She sounded more sweet than ever, finally giving Rommath the impression so many young noble-born Ladies had given him before.

"Of course not." he said, putting his cup down to conjure more water for Elrendi. They would be on their way sooner or later, and Rommath hoped it wouldn't take too much of his time to find Lor'themar's mother. After all, he was a leader to his very core. And his companion seemed to suffer from severe mood changes. He did not know how much he would be able to take before he would eventually snap. What's more, he did not know what would even happen if he were to snap. Of course he hoped it would not come to that, and that he would be able to complete his quest without too much trouble. At least Elrendi showed no such thing as a lack of commitment, which he took as a good sign for the further progression of his mission. She was not an unpleasant person by definition, Rommath only felt her personality was too diffirent from his own to be able to fully co-operate with her, but he would be able to. Or at least that's what he thought, what he hoped. What would happen next? Only time could tell.


	6. Chapter V : Feelings of Doubt

**.**

**Life As We Have Lead It..**

Chapter V

_Feelings of Doubt_

_Disclaimer: "Almost everything here belongs to Blizzard. For questions, please speak with my agent. I'm sure he'll be happy to -"  
"Ahem!"  
"Please excuse me. Speak with my Argent *starts mumbling* Crusader."  
"Happy to be of asssistance. Even I was created by Blizzard Almighty." *Tarenar Sunstrike graciously bows* Discount random NPC!_

_A/N: Happy New Year first of all! Secondly, my laptop (with the files of my stories) has died a couple of minutes before we went into 2014.. At least it wasn't the new year that started poorly I suppose, since this happened in 2013. Optimism and all that. Dear Aman'thul I hope that it isn't my hard drive that has suffered too and again (3rd time this thing broke, I don't feel as if 3rd time's a charm anymore)._

___(Chapter I : Memories of the Past has gotten a bit of a revamp. It's not essential that you check it out, but I would like it if you did. I've added a few things.)_

* * *

The Banshee Queen had decided that her brief conversation with Aradne wasn't enough. She had to somehow obtain more information on the former ranks of the Scourge, and she thought she knew just the person who would be able to supply just that. As she strode through the streets of the Undercity she couldn't help but grin at the lack of Kor'kron standing guard. In very much the same way as she used to keep her city, the place was once again filled with Undercity Guardians. Abominations is what they were, but loyal ones at that. Unlike the Kor'kron, who served to keep an eye on the Forsaken instead of actually serving them. Sylvanas knew she much preferred it this way. She was greeted by salutes of her elite guardsmen as she moved towards the keep. Her face revealed no emotion whatsoever, and her mind was completely blank. It felt to her as if she was acting like a braindead zombie, not at all sure why she did what she did. She would have a word with her servant for now, and make sense of things later. Perhaps it was just because she had no goals to achieve at this time that she felt so.. so empty inside. Surely there was a war to fight out somewhere? Perhaps she should take a small party of dark rangers and seek out remaining humans and worgen in her lands? Although that would not be a thing she would do as Queen, it would certainly statify her bloodthirst as it were, and it would make her feel the way she used to feel, taking her party to hunt Amani trolls back in Quel'Thalas. Or perhaps she could wait for something interesting to come along her path. Who knew, perhaps Lor'themar's issues could turn into something interesting for her. She could perhaps benefit from it herself in some way. If either Ciria or Cyntha had somehow gotten themselves into the Scourge, she could recruit a few more undead to bolster her ranks.

.

"Where do you suspect-"

"My apologies for cutting you off like that, my Lord. But that is not at all how locating people works. I can't just 'suspect' or 'assume' where people might have gone, I have to investigate." Elrendi leaned her back against a tree, watching Rommath from under her hood as she crossed her arms. Rommath sighed long and hard, wishing they would progress faster. So far, he had seen no results whatsoever.

"By the Light, why am I even doing this?" he wondered aloud.

"I thought you wished to help the Regent Lord to find his mother?" Rommath could tell Elrendi was frowning at him without even sparing her a glance. She seemed to have this recurring type of behavior where she did not understand him, disagreed with him or otherwise annoyed him in her own way. Truth be told, he hadn't given her much of a chance. But she was definately waisting his time, that much was sure. Any other would have already found at least one clue, albeit a small one. Elrendi had done nothing, other than follow him in what he already knew and pretending to be the one to lead them by taking the map and speeding up her pace as they walked.

"Aye, I thought I did. But I have come to realize over the years that he will never be capable of being the leader Prince Kael'thas was before – well, you know the story."  
"You will not have Lor'themar in his position, then?" Elrendi said, her voice full of disbelief.

"Of course not!" Rommath snapped. "If it hadn't been for the Burning Legion, Kael'thas would have lead our people to paradise. Lor'themar is not even capable of promising that, let alone bringing any truth to his statement. He even said himself that he dislikes politics, what use can he be as Regent Lord?"

"Well, Grand Magister, I must strongly disagree. He has kept us alive over the years, and he has lead us against Scourge, troll and Warchief alike."

"Look around you and tell me what you see." Elrendi pulled her hood back and briefly glanced about.

"Mostly death." she stated. "I know where this conversation is going. We should move on, my Lord."

"Exactly," Rommath sneered. "Death is what you see here. The Regent Lord has failed in recovering the Ghostlands. He has failed to lead us to a worthy place in the world. Perhaps you are too young to remember, but we used to be the most powerful and most respected kingdom in the Eastern Kingdoms! And now look at us. We can't even manage to recruit our brothers and sisters in Outland back into our ranks."  
"How can you be so harsh, Rommath? Surely if you know so much more than Lor'themar does, you could have done more to 'lead us to paradise'? You were his advisor, for crying out loud!" Elrendi snapped, causing Rommath's eyes to widen.

"Advisor. There is that word again. Advisor does not mean I get to rule in his stead, Elrendi! I can't make his decisions for him. If I recieved a bit of street the Sanctum of the Moon would fit on for everytime Lor'themar dismissed my council or otherwise did not heed it, I would own a place twice the size of Silvermoon by now!"

"I can't believe this," Elrendi said, her voice almost a whisper. "How can you be so – so treacherous, after all Lor'themar has done for us!"

"If I twist your words slightly, I can direct them right back at you. How can you be so loyal after all Lor'themar has done for us?" Elrendi grunted, turning her head away to escape Rommath's judging gaze.

"I don't think I could ever aid a person who sees things this way. I would rather try to find Lady Ciria myself than spend another minute in your presence, Grand Magister." Rommath noticed her voice shook slightly, but decided not to make much of it.

"Bless the Pantheon for that. I doubt you can even find a trace of the Lady Theron before I can. Of course, we will never find this out. I will make my return to Silvermoon. You can ask your employer for some of the money I gave him if you so desire. He has plenty of it." Rommath turned away from his former-companion without even sparing her as much as a filthy look, thanking everything there was to thank to finally be rid of her and this dreaded mission.

.

Elrendi's heart had sunk from the moment it became clear that the Grand Magister would take his leave. Not only had she now lost her income and would she be forced to return to her aweful employer, but she had also managed to ruin the service she had vowed to do for Lord Theron. Or at least, she had promised herself that if he was ever in need of her aid, she would grant it without question. As aweful a person she might think Grand Magister Rommath to be, she knew she would need him. She did not have the slightest clue who or what she was even looking for, and she knew Rommath would inevitably be able to help her identify eventual clues, as much as she disliked him after such a short time. He had brought her down to a level she wouldn't have imagined herself to ever be on, annoying him to his core and even annoying herself by her own behaviour in the process. There was a harsh truth to face: there was no way she could ever reach him, make him understand her or understand him herself.

And now she was alone in the darkness. She seriously doubted she would be able to defend herself if a group of creatures decided she was their prime target tonight. Against one, two or even three? Sure, she would be able to handle most creatures in that number. Four is where she would run into problems. Five she could handle if she was lucky, but any number higher than five? She just presumed she was done for if that were to ever happen. And thus, she feared the darkness for now. If only she could summon fire herself.. if only Rommath was still here despite the fact both disliked one another..

To her own shame, even the sound of the leaves caught in the slight breeze startled her from time to time. She sat down helplessly, hiding between a few bushes as she gripped the hilts of her daggers firmly. She would continue her search when she felt safe again, if that were to ever happen. She could not dissapoint Lord Theron, she had to find his wife, for him and his son Lor'themar. Elrendi had never been able to forget his deeds, and had been anomoured with him so much as a child. He was her one and only hero, no one could ever match him in her eyes. She had been devastated when she heard of his death at the hands of the Scourge. She even wept for the man she knew would not have recognised her if she had appeared in front of him for a second time. After she heard the Prince had made Lor'themar Regent Lord in his absence, she knew she had to follow him instead of Kael'thas. She would do everything for the son of the man who had saved her that faithful day..

_It was during the First War that Elrendi had found herself playing in the woods with a few other children who lived in the area after her parents had forbidden her to do just that. As they were playing capture the flag, one of the girls began to scream as if she had just been set fire to. She ran away in the direction of her house, crying uncontrollably and looking terrified. The other children, including Elrendi, weren't aware of what she had seen at first, but soon heard the loud battlecries of the Horde. In a sea of green, Elrendi was so startled at the orcs and Amani trolls appearing out of seemingly nowwhere that she was unable to move. She merely stated at them in utter shock as they charged towards her in an unbelievably fast speed for their size. Then she felt one of her friends tug her arm._

_"Elri, what are you doing? Run!" he yelled terrified, screaming into her ear as it was almost unable to sound louder than the deafening roars coming from the throats of the orcs. Elrendi and him ran as fast as they could, trying desperately to reach safety yet knowing they were oh so far away from their village. They tried to ignore the arrows and spears flying past them, some of which only narrowly missed them. Elrendi then felt a spear rush past her arm, ripping part of it open as it did so. She stopped running and screamed in agony. It was more pain than she had ever felt in her entire life, there were no words she could possibly decribe it with. Her friend stopped a few meters ahead of her, glancing about in shock of what just had just happened but then realizing what was about to happen if he stayed near her. Elrendi fell to her knees as she watched him flee. To her shock and horror, she saw another spear flying past, directly aimed at her friend. It hit him in his leg and he faceplanted to the ground, crying out even harder than Elrendi had. She barely noticed the earth shook as the Horde swiftly approached. She just closed her eyes firmly and tried to shut out everything that was happening around her, as well as to her. She felt her entire face was wet with tears as she clutched her bleeding arm with her other hand, causing herself to cry out in pain again as she now got dirt from their previous game in her wound. She waited for it. She waited so long, it seemed. She even wondered if she was already dead at this point a few times, but then being rudely awakened by more projectiles flying past her._

_Then she heard them: elves shouting commands at their comrades and the galloping of Quel'dorei Steeds as the rangers and what not came to drive the Horde out of their lands. Elrendi did not dare open her eyes, convincing herself it was all just a bad dream or, if this was real, was too good to be true and she would never get rescued. She sat there in complete silence for a while, and then fell to her side. The ground was so cold, and yet her arm felt as if it was a smoldering fire. She felt someone pick her up from the ground. As that happened, she heard voices she could not understand very clearly. Then someone decided to touch her arm for some reason, and she came to her senses again as she cried out in pain. Then suddenly, she felt better, a lot better in fact. She looked about to see two men tending to her, one holding her and the other being a paladin who was healing her wound._

_"There, that's better. How are you feeling, girl?" the paladin asked her._

_"Good." Her voice sounded hoarse, and Elrendi came to realize her mouth was filled with dirt. She turned her head to the ground to spit out most of it, unfortunately having to swallow the rest._

_"We'll take her to the village they are taking the other children to." the elf holding her said to the other. "If she doesn't live there, then surely they know where she lives otherwise." Elrendi laid her head at rest to the elf's chest, feeling weak and tired despite the healing she had just recieved. She reached to touch her arm, and noticed it was bandaged. Her mother would not be happy about the sleeve they had cut off to bandage her, Elrendi thought._

_._

_"Thank you so much, Lord Theron, for saving my daughter." Elrendi watched her mother shaking the hand of one of the ranger commanders. So this Lord Theron had to be the one to have saved her. She recognised him from earlier, as he had been the one to carry her home._

_"It is my duty, my Lady. But I will always have a soft spot for these poor children, even without taking honour into consideration." They both looked at Elrendi, who was sitting in a chair her mother had put out for her in the kitchen. Only now did she notice her mother was weeping. "I am truly sorry to hear about your husband, my Lady. He fought valiantly." Lord Theron said sorrowfully as her mother nodded briefly. "If you will excuse me, I have to return to my rangers. Good luck to you, my Lady."_

_"And to you, Lord Theron." Elrendi watched Lord Theron take his leave. _

_She would come to appreciate what he had done for her family and their homeland within the next few weeks. From this moment on, Elrendi would regard him as her personal saviour. As soon as she had mastered the skills of the blade, she vowed to aid Lord Theron and his cause if she was ever required to do so._

Elrendi swallowed as she reminded herself of that day. She knew exactly what it must have felt like for Lor'themar to loose his own father in perhaps an even more dreadful way than she had lost her own. And after her mother had come down with a devastating fever only mere months after her father past away, she had been all alone in this world. If there was still a posibility that Lor'themar's mother was alive, which there appeared to be, Elrendi would find her. For him as much as she would for his father.

.

"Trust me, my Queen. If I had any knowledge of someone named 'Ciria' or 'Cyntha', I would have let you know earlier in our conversation. Beside that, I have never actually heard of Lana'thel favouring anyone but the Blood Princes perhaps." Sylvanas narrowed her eyes at the elf in front of her. Perhaps she had been slightly too harsh on him over the last few months. He spoke only in a strictly formal manner, his rather blooming personality, at least for an undead, completely cast aside.

"Well then, Koltira, I feel I should take your word for it. However, if I do find out you are holding out on any information, you know what will happen to you." Sylvanas listened to her own voice as she spoke, feeling she sounded especially dark when she spoke to Koltira Deathweaver. To her own pleasure, Koltira showed no change in posture or behaviour as he answered her.

"I do, my Queen. I am your loyal servant." She grinned at him, taking even more pleasure in knowing she had broken a man almost entirely. He was now indeed a loyal servant, more loyal than she had ever imagined he could be. The next time he would have a run in with Thassarian, Koltira would show him no mercy.

"I trust you are, Koltira Deathweaver. But make no mistake, I will be watching you closely. No more failures, do I make myself clear?" Sylvanas straightened herself to make an imposing figure in front of the death knight.

"Yes, Dark Lady." Koltira replied, putting his hand to his chest and bowing gracefully.

"Very well. You may take your leave. If you do remember anything, I trust I will hear from you." After the death knight had left her quarters, Sylvanas silently cursed herself for what she had done over the past few days. She could not figure out how she could care so much for Lor'themar's family in such a way still. She was dead. Her emotions were practically gone, and yet this moved her so? It moved her so much that she was willing to reveal it to a few of her servants. As much as she wished to help her former second-in-command Lor'themar Theron, she could not afford to display any form of weakness. A fool like Garrosh Hellscream might just appear and use it against her, although she had serious doubts about it being able to break her spirit. If anything, her experiences in undeath had made her stronger. And after all, Aradne and Koltira would keep their mouths shut very tightly about the whole matter. Both were unaware there were others who knew of Sylvanas aiding Lor'themar, if only a little, in search of his mother and sister, and both were fully aware of the consequenses of betraying her or showing signs of it. She was otherwise confident in their loyalty, but after the incident with Grand Apothecary Putress, one could never bee too certain of the allegiance of their followers.

.

Rommath sighed his annoyance after he had teleported himself back to Silvermoon City, realizing that if he were to return now, he would have nothing to fall back on to confirm that he even tried to find Lady Ciria. Then what would happen is people would think him disloyal. He imagined there would be a ton of others just waiting to have him do something foolish in order to lower his influence or worse: having him be dismissed as Grand Magister. That was not something he was about to allow to happen. As much as he would come to regret returning to his mission, he knew he would probably regret it even more if he were to return to Sunfury Spire now. He would at least have to find a few clues as to where Lor'themar's mother went. The sooner he had done that, the better. He had doubts about ever finding her, but the least thing he could do was provide a few directions for someone else after he had blatantly offered to find her himself for reasons he wasn't able to recall. Perhaps he believed in Lor'themar in that moment. It was true that he lied to Elrendi, Lor'themar wasn't unfit to lead, it was just that he would rather have someone with more political kind of abilities in charge. Someone who knew what he was doing on almost every ground. Lor'themar was more fit to be a militairy leader, this they had established clear enough over the years. And truth be told, Rommath was still devastated by the betrayal of Kael'thas, even after a few years had gone by. It still felt like it had been yesterday to him, as well as it felt like yesterday that their High Kingdom was still the land of eternal spring-time. The magical capital of the world, and unlike Dalaran, it did not have the people Rommath despised to much, namely the humans. Even more specifically, those who turned a blind eye to them when they were nearly getting excecuted in Dalaran after aiding the humans so. Rommath could not understand how Aethas Sunreaver had been able to put up with them for so long, and would still be putting up with them were it not that they now falsely accused him of being a traitor, although Rommath felt it was for the best if he stayed in Quel'Thalas.

For now, Rommath would need to figure out how he would do things on his own in the Ghostlands, finding himself completely unable to ever parter up with that dreadful rogue again. Perhaps he would find another to fulfill her 'job', supposedly this wasn't too hard. At least he had some newfound determination now. If he would do this for himself rather than for Lor'themar, Rommath would probably succeed a lot easier.


End file.
